Saturday, March 28, 2026

Mark Ashton and Ipswich Town FC - a failure of leadership

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The controversy over Nigel Farage’s publicity stunt at Portman Road, the home of the Tractor Boys, and my (very) local football club, has de...
Thursday, March 26, 2026

Local Government Reorganisation in Suffolk - the three Unitary solution has it...

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The Conservatives at the County Council having thrown a large chunk of public money at trying to persuade us that what Suffolk really needed...
Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Thredling - a warning of things to come?

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The late breaking decision to reinstate the County Council elections in May means that the new boundaries for Suffolk County Council kick in...
1 comment:
Saturday, March 21, 2026

Creeting St Peter: keeping the finances on an even keel

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As my reign of terror glorious leadership of Creeting St Peter Parish Council nears its end, I am beginning to reflect on what I’ve achieve...
Thursday, January 08, 2026

Natalism: the next "interesting" set of policies coming our way?

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If you follow what Reform UK are campaigning on, and I wish that I didn't, you know that many of their ideas come from thinktanks which ...
1 comment:
Wednesday, January 07, 2026

Thinking about trains again...

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Professional training takes me to Croydon in a few weeks time which means navigating our official travel provider's website. And clearly...
Tuesday, January 06, 2026

Does technology offer a solution to my lack of focus?

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Ten years ago, I got myself a Fitbit and started walking 10,000 steps each day. And, apart from a brief, food poisoning induced, hiatus in F...
Monday, January 05, 2026

Creeting St Peter: another year of financial prudence

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In my capacity as finance portfolio holder for my beloved Parish Council, over the years I’ve been preparing what I tend to think of as caut...
Sunday, January 04, 2026

All aboard the Mattapan Trolley!

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Those of you who know me modestly well will know that I am an aficionado of public transport, or transit as I guess I should call it when ac...
Saturday, January 03, 2026

Adventures with Elsa (other princesses are available)

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One of the unexpected side effects of being a grandparent of a five-year-old girl is exposure to the full array of Disney princesses. And ye...
Friday, January 02, 2026

There are mixed feelings about this bargain…

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When I gave up on The Times a few years ago, I reinvested those freed-up funds into some proper journalism - the Economist and the Washingto...
Thursday, January 01, 2026

2026 — a year of transition…

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So, the fireworks have gone off, and a new year has begun. I gave up making public announcements of resolutions made a long time ago - why b...
Sunday, December 14, 2025

A dawning realisation that I don’t really fit, but that’s fine

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Occasionally, someone revisits the idea that the Liberal Democrats consist of a number of tribes, and writes (usually quite thoughtfully) ab...
Sunday, November 30, 2025

A short history of correspondence with my family…

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When I was (much) younger, messages to my family were sent on something that looked like this, an aerogramme. They were designed to be light...
Saturday, November 29, 2025

A pleasant dinner, interrupted by someone being murdered…

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I’m always open to the idea of a good meal, and when Ros suggested dinner at the Suffolk Food Hall, I warmly welcomed the notion. There was ...
Friday, October 24, 2025

Looking at a polar bear, exit stage right…

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To London, for dinner with Ros and a visit to my parents. And that means a trip on newly-nationalised Greater Anglia, with its fairly new, q...
Saturday, October 18, 2025

Time to bask in the glow of achievement... for now, at least...

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I have been gloriously re-appointed as Suffolk's member of the National Assembly of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), r...
Wednesday, October 08, 2025

If I die, can I come back a Valèncian?

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I’m at an age now where, if I can avoid a very early morning flight time, I will. Of course, that does potentially mean that my choice of de...
Tuesday, September 30, 2025

The road to power starts with a single step

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I have, mostly by dint of being too polite to say no, risen a surprisingly long way in the genteel world of Town and Parish Councils. I repr...
Sunday, September 28, 2025

The field for President and Vice-President is set - some more thoughts…

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So, with nominations closed, Babarinde vs Bray and Collins vs Hussain are the two contests at the top of the “bill”. Time, so think, to star...